Author: Health Panorama

Dayo Ojerinde The Commissioner for Health, Kaduna State, Dr. Amina Baloni, advocated a public-private partnership in health delivery in the country. Baloni, in a statement on Thursday, said ensuring access to affordable health consumables at the health facilities and achieving optimal quantities of life-saving commodities available at warehouses across states should remain the priority in Nigeria’s healthcare system. She was quoted to have spoken at a leadership breakfast meeting held in Lagos last week. The breakfast meeting, according to the statement was organised by the Africa Resource Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management and was hosted by the Commissioners…

Dayo Ojerinde The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has called for an end to the indiscriminate use of controlled medicines. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, at the inauguration of the International Narcotics Control Board Annual Report and Precursors in Lagos also called for a combative effort in tackling the menace of drug abuse in the country. Adeyeye who was represented at the event by the agency’s Director of Drug Evaluation and Research, Mrs Ijeoma Nwankwo, said, “Although controlled medicines are indispensable in the treatment of pain and are central to achieving universal health coverage,…

Dayo Ojerinde The Lagos State Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, HEFAMAA, has validated standards for the registration of health facilities in the state. The head of public affairs, HEFAMAA, Mr Muyideen Uthman, in a statement on Thursday, said the agency recently held a four-day meeting to review and validate the basic standards for health facilities in the state. The Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr Abiola Idowu, in the statement, said the standards would serve as a benchmark to measure the services provided by health facilities and a framework for existing facilities to review and improve their service provision.…

At least two-thirds of households with children have lost income since the COVID-19 pandemic hit two years ago, according to a new report published today by United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Bank. The report with data collected in 35 countries, including Nigeria, noted that households with three or more children were most likely to have lost income, with more than three-quarters experiencing a reduction in earnings. This compares to 68 per cent of households with one or two children. The report also noted that income losses had left adults in one in four households with children going without…

Dr Rotimi Adesanya March has been chosen as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in the United Kingdom and other European countries to bring attention to this very common form of cancer that affects so many men. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in men and is the second leading cancer-related cause of death in men. The prostate is a gland. It is usually the size and shape of a walnut and grows bigger as one get older. The prostate is a small gland in the pelvis, found only in men. It sits underneath the bladder and surrounds the urethra,…

Dayo Ojerinde In commemoration of the 2022 International Women’s Day, Nigeria’s largest and fastest growing community for parents and expectant mothers, Babymigo, has unveiled a first-of-its-kind campaign themed ‘Nigeria’s 30 Best Places to Work for Mums’. According to a statement on Tuesday, Babymigo, through the initiative would recognise 30 best workplaces for mothers to applaud efforts and encourage organisations to develop policies, benefits, and internal practices that improve outcomes for working parents. Recall that the remarkable accomplishments and achievements of women in all spheres of life across the globe are celebrated annually on March 8 as International Women’s Day. Speaking…

The Provost, College of Medicine, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Professor Barnabas Madong, has urged the Federal and State Governments to invest in the country’s health sector. Mandong at a briefing held at the university recently said investment in the country’s health sector by the government would help to curb brain drain and medical tourism in Nigeria. He said, “Our contribution is to make sure we train medical students to meet the global needs. We are aware that because of the level of training and the competencies we have given our students, they have found places in Europe and other…

The Lagos State Government is set to hold a mental health conference geared towards drawing attention to the importance of a multi-sectoral approach to provide improved mental health care. The conference, according to a statement on Sunday was organised to discuss a positive  course towards providing the mental and social health assets in the state. The conference, with the theme, ‘Responding to the Mental Health Needs of a 21st Century Megacity,’ would hold on Tuesday at the Landmark event centre, Lagos. The state Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, in the statement, said the conference was an offshoot of the…

A Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Professor Olugbenga Ogunlewe, has listed genetic abnormality, environmental factor and malnutrition as some of the causes of cleft palate. Ogunlewe said this at the 2021 South-west cleft stakeholders’ meeting held in Lagos recently to scale up cleft care services in the zone. She said, “The causes of cleft and lip palate are not fully understood but there is a basic knowledge as to what causes cleft and it is multi-factorial. The main thing is that there is a genetic abnormality and there are also environmental factors, that…

Scientists from the University of Texas Southwestern, USA, may have identified a method of safely mimicking the weight-loss benefits of a plant compound, that despite its harmful side effects hold key answers to developing therapies for obesity. According to sciencedaily.com, Celastrol, derived from the root extracts of a white-flowered plant in China, has drawn increased attention in recent years after studies showed it could prevent and reverse obesity in mice. However, because celastrol could cause reactions such as high blood pressure and lethargy in mice, researchers have sought to understand how the compound works and use that knowledge to develop…